Buffington Mohr McNeal Has $9.14 Million Position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

Buffington Mohr McNeal lowered its holdings in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,907 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock after selling 2,777 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories makes up 1.8% of Buffington Mohr McNeal's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Buffington Mohr McNeal's holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ABT. Cim LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $1,919,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Capital Square LLC grew its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Cyrus J. Lawrence LLC now owns 954 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, Glass Wealth Management Co LLC lifted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Glass Wealth Management Co LLC now owns 2,640 shares of the healthcare product maker's stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In related news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total value of $337,116.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. This trade represents a 7.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $133.70. The company had a trading volume of 3,114,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,158,307. The business has a fifty day moving average of $133.20 and a 200-day moving average of $128.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $232.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $99.71 and a 12 month high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.38 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. Equities analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratories's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABT has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $158.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $132.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partnrs raised Abbott Laboratories to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $145.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $142.61.

About Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.